Retired law professor Gill Boehringer was detained on arrival at Manila yesterday and told that he would be deported at 8.30am today (10.30am AEST), allegedly because he participated in rallies against APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation).

“We call on the Duterte government to cancel this deportation order, and also ask Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to take action on this case,” said Peter Murphy for the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines.
Lawyers in the Philippines are working hard to delay or block this deportation. Prof Boehringer is over 80 years old, a frequent visitor to the Philippines and married to a Filipina who lives in Mindanao. Because of his age and susceptibility to blood clots, they asked that the deportation at least be delayed. This is also to allow his wife to reach Manila from Mindanao to see him, and to allow him more rest.

The last APEC leaders meeting in the Philippines was in November 2015 and Prof Boehringer has visited and stayed in the Philippines many times and for long periods since then, without any issues being raised with him.
However, Prof Boehringer’s case is similar to that of Australian religious missionary Sister Patricia Fox, aged 71, who is now appealing against a deportation order first served on her in April this year, again based on “attendance at rallies”. The Duterte government now has a pattern of taking action against foreigners who witness the harsh repression being imposed by his government.
For further comment: Peter Murphy 0418 312 301